


Protect The Pack

by Kayim



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: 5 Acts Meme, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-29
Updated: 2012-11-29
Packaged: 2017-11-19 20:02:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/577119
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kayim/pseuds/Kayim
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ruby can smell it on him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Protect The Pack

**Author's Note:**

> Written for Crickets in 5 Acts Round Seven.

Ruby can smell it on him.

It's subtle, like the soft perfume of a single flower in the middle of a field of weeds, but it's there, hidden deep beneath the surface. 

She understands that it's still Snow who has his heart, the closest thing to true love Ruby has ever witnessed, and she'd die before allowing anything to come ruin that, but she can still sense it bubbling beneath the surface. The way he looks at her, considering a thousand "what if's". The way his hand shakes, almost imperceptibly, when he reaches out to pull her up from her seat. The way his eyes follow her as she walks into the room. 

Ruby knows that she should walk away, keep her distance, but she can't. She's drawn to him (in the same way Snow is, she reminds herself over and over again) and there is a part of her that's unable to pull away. She wonders if he's even aware of what he does, of how he drags people in towards him, offering silent promises in every glance that she doubts he even knows about.

So she stands back, not too far, not too close, and allows herself the knowledge that if neither of them speak of it, nothing can come of it. She turns her attention back to the rescue of Emma and Snow, burying herself in the work, instead of burying herself in his arms like she wants, and shuts off that part of herself.

After all, she's a wolf. And if there's one thing they understand, it's how to protect the pack.


End file.
